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All screenings take place at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas at 1881 Post Street (at Fillmore) in San Francisco.
American Teen
Wednesday, May 7, 10:00 am
Directed by Nanette Burstein (USA 2007, 95 min)
The jock, the nerd, the indie girl and the prom queen: This real-life Breakfast Club (only with cell phones), an audience favorite at Sundance, follows four American teens through their senior year in a small Indiana high school.
Program Note: Mild profanity and discussions about sexuality
Suggested Subjects: English, peer/youth issues, social science, women’s studies
Grades: 10–12
Ask Not
Tuesday, April 29, 12:45 pm
Directed by Johnny Symons (USA 2008, 73 min)
This incisive look at the failure and injustice of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy documents an upstart gay and lesbian group’s attempt to enlist, former soldiers’ war experiences and a gay Baghdad-bound soldier’s retreat into the closet.
Program Note: Brief nudity and profanity during footage of a gay pride parade
Suggested Subjects: American history, journalism, peer/youth issues, political science, social science
Grades: 9–12
Cochochi
Thursday, May 1, 10:00 am
Directed by Israel Cárdenas, Laura Amelia Guzmán (Mexico/England/Canada 2007, 87 min)
In Tarahumara with English subtitles
Two preteen Tarahumara Indian brothers tasked with delivering medicine across remote northwestern Mexico impetuously “borrow” their grandfather’s horse, lose the precious steed then one another as they divide over what to do.
Suggested Subjects: ESL, hearing impaired, Latin American studies, peer/youth issues, social studies, Spanish
Grades: 7–12
Dust (Staub)
Monday, May 5, 10:00 am
Directed by Hartmut Bitomsky (Germany/Switzerland 2007, 89 min)
In German with English subtitles
This fascinating documentary exposes the cyclical and relentless nature of dust in interviews with everyone from scientists uncovering its role in the origins of the universe to artists reveling in the discrete beauty of dust bunnies.
Suggested Subjects: American history, arts/media, environmental studies, German, health, science
Grades: 10–12
Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans
Tuesday, May 6, 10:00 am
Directed by Dawn Logsdon (USA 2008, 68 min)
A deeply personal documentary reflecting on the rich civil rights past of a culturally vibrant New Orleans neighborhood to better understand its present problems and strengths. Featuring a jazzy score and interviews with prominent writers and artists. Shown with Tellin It Like It Is: The Work of Elouise Westbrook
Suggested Subjects: African American studies, American history, arts/media, journalism, music, social science
Grades: 6–12
Flow: For Love of Water
Monday, April 28, 10:00 am
Directed by Irena Salina (USA 2007, 83 min)
The resource whose scarcity most threatens our future isn’t oil, it’s water. This crucial documentary shows how access to a life-giving resource is inextricably and disastrously linked to the flow of capital, while profiling the activists who are swimming against the tide.
Suggested Subjects: African studies, Asian studies, environmental studies, health, Latin American studies, political science, science, social science, world affairs
Grades: 10–12
Girls in the World
Thursday, May 8, 12:30 pm
Total running time 80 min
Archetypal qualities attributed to women are playfully deconstructed in this quartet of narrative and documentary short films with feisty female protagonists, among them prison inmates who take part in a beauty pageant and an Ethiopian Muslim woman who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a barista.
Program Note: Brief profanity
Suggested Subjects: African studies, Asian studies, Latin American studies, peer/youth issues, social science, social studies, Spanish, women’s studies
Grades: 7–12
JUMP!
Exclusive Schools at the Festival-only screening
Wednesday, April 30, 10:00 am
Directed by Helen Hood Sheer (USA 2007, 85 min)
This character-driven documentary follows kids on five competitive jump rope teams from around the country who push physical and psychological limits in pursuit of winning the world championship. Part extreme sport, part art form, their moves are masterfully choreographed and bursting with rhythm, sweat and originality.
Suggested Subjects: health, music, peer/youth issues, physical education, women’s studies
Grades: 5–12
1000 Journals
Thursday, May 1, 12:30 pm
Directed by Andrea Kreuzhage (USA 2007, 88 min)
An investigation of the creative spark that ignites when a San Francisco artist disseminates 1,000 blank journals around the world, filling them with art, stories and thoughts as the books pass from hand to hand.
Program Note: Mild profanity
Suggested Subjects: arts/media, english, journalism, social science, social studies
Grades: 9–12
Operation Turquoise
Tuesday, April 29, 9:45 am
Directed by Alain Tasma (France 2007, 111 min)
In French with English subtitles
This unsentimental docudrama assesses the ostensibly humanitarian role of French troops after the Rwandan genocide of 1994 by viewing it through the eyes of both naïve and seasoned soldiers.
Program Note: No onscreen violence, but several images of burned and mutilated corpses and skeletons
Suggested Subjects: African studies, ESL, French, journalism, political science, social studies, world affairs/history
Grades: 10–12
Secrecy
Tuesday, May 6, 12:45 pm
Directed by Peter Galison (USA 2007, 85 min)
The seduction and power of secrets are at the core of this fascinating, timely documentary exploring why the U.S. government spends more time and money than ever before to keep information away from the American public.
Suggested Subjects: American history, journalism, political science, social studies, world affairs
Grades: 10–12
Sleep Dealer
Monday, May 5, 12:45 pm
Directed by Alex Rivera (USA 2008, 90 min)
In Spanish with English subtitles
In this sci-fi film, a youngster from a remote Mexican village moves to Tijuana where he gets a job working “virtually” through nodes implanted in his body.
Program Note: Mild profanity, brief violence and sexual situation
Suggested Subjects: environmental studies, ESL, hearing impaired, Latin American studies, political science, science, social studies, Spanish
Grades: 10–12
Stay Tooned, Kids!
Friday, May 2, 10:00 am
Wednesday, May 7, 12:45 pm
Total running time 66 min
There are no limits to what a child can create in the realm of the imagination. In the world of film, animators have the same freedom. A bridge that falls in love? Sheep that paint? A goat that eats time? No problem!
Suggested Subjects: arts/media, elementary school, English
Grades: 2–6
Up the Yangtze
Friday, May 2, 12:45 pm
Directed by Yung Chang (Canada 2007, 93 min)
In Mandarin with English subtitles
This lyrical documentary looks at the massive changes wrought by the Three Gorges Dam being built in China through the stories of two teenagers working on a cruise ship that caters to European and North American tourists.
Suggested Subjects: Asian studies, Chinese, environmental studies, ESL, social studies, world affairs
Grades: 7-12
Youth Media Mania
Thursday, May 8, 10:00 am
Total running time 68 min
It’s no longer unusual or even surprising to see kids with video cameras, but the quality and diversity of the work they create continues to amaze and inspire. Come witness true teen talent in action (and animation)!
Suggested Subjects: African American studies, american history, arts/media, English, music, peer/youth issues, social science, social studies
Grades: 7–12
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